Sandpaper holder



March 29 1949.

E. L. BATES SANDPAPER HOLDER Filed Dec. '7, 1946 HIM INVENTOR. awsmw L. Gem-.5

HTTOENE VS Patented Mar. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES ATET OFFICE SANDPAPER HOLDER Edward L. Bates, Modesto. Calif., assignor to Dan 0. Druge, Alameda County, Calif.

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a sandpaper holder, or to a holder adapted for holding any abrasive paper or cloth such as garnet paper, emery paper or cloth, crocus cloth, etc., and has for one of its objects the provision of an economical holder of resilient sheet material that is adapted for use in reaching relatively inaccessible corners and places, and that transmits the pressure of the fingers to the abrasive working Surface for distribution over the material to be smoothed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a holder adapted to hold a rectangular sheet of sandpaper, or the like, and which holder is so constructed as to enable the user to quickly shift the paper so that all parts of the paper may be used with equal facility, thereby avoiding waste.

A till further object of the invention is the provision of a sandpaper holder in substantially the form of a strip of resilient metal curved transversely and around one end portion of which a sheet of sand paper of quarter sheet or about 4 /2 inches by 5 inches is adapted to be wrapped and secured with opposite end portions overlapping on the concave side of the strip for substantially the full Width of the strip when the portion intermediate said end portions is taut across the convex side.

Heretofore most sandpaper holders have rigid blocks or plates backing the sandpaper, and the thickness has been such as to make it relatively diiiicult if not impossible to get the sandpaper into corners or crevices. Also, the rigidity of the backing blocks or plates has made it impossible to efficiently sandpaper surfaces that are not absolutely flat, inasmuch as the paper quickly becomes clogged where it hits the high spots leaving the intermediate spaces untouched. For these reasons some workmen prefer to press the paper directly against the work to be sanded by the fingers, or to fold the paper on itself where used toget into crevices.

Ihe use of the fingers on the paper is ultimately rather painful on the. fingers, and the pressure s too localized to be entirely desirable, also sharp small protrusions on the surface being sanded are hard to remove.

Where the paper is folded to get into crevices or corners there is no adequate support for the paper, and becomes quickly mutilated.

By the present invention the above mentioned objections are overcome and the desired results are readily accomplished.

In'most instances of which I am aware it has also been found that much sandpa er is wasted in using the conventional holders. Either one or both of the margins of the paper are used for clamping purposes, and no shifting of the paper will result in getting full use out of said margins.

By the present invention the paper, after once being wrapped around the holder, may be quickly shifted and reversed so as to utilize every portion of the paper without sacrifice in its efficiency.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and in the drawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of the invention with a piece of sandpaper on the holder.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of another form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the invention shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the invention as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the invention illustrated in Fig. 2 in position in the hand of a user.

In detail, the main body of the holder as illustrated in Figs. 1,3 comprises a strip 1 of resilient, relatively thin metal, which strip is curved transversely of its length from end to end. The side edges of the strip are parallel and the curve is uniform at all points along its length.

The opposite end edges 2, 3 of strip l preferably extend slantingly relative to the side edges, or at an angle within a range of about 30 from perpendicular to said side edges as indicated in Figs. 1, 2. It is obvious, of course, that the end edges may be perpendicular to the side edges, but in any event, all of the corners are rounded as shown.

The strip i has an elongated piece 4 of resilient metal secured to one of its end portions 5 by any suitable means such as rivets 6 or spot welding. The piece t extends longitudinally of strip I on the concave side of the latter, and along the longitudinal edge of said strip that extends to the generally po nted end of the strip that is formed by the slanted end edge 3. The rivets 6 are at the end of said piece 4 that is nearest said end edge thus leaving the opposite end portion 1 of piece 4 free to be raised away from the piece 5. Inasmuch as piece it is resilient, it will spring back against the strip i when released.

The piece ll functions to releasably hold a piece of sand paper or other sheet of foldable abrasive material 9 onto the end portion 8 of strip I, which end portion is at the end of strip 1 opposite the end portion 5.

The width of the strip l is preferablysuch hat a quarter sheet of standard size sandpaper may be wrapped around the end portion 8 of strip I with opposite end portions Ill (Fig. 3) of such sheet extending in overlapping relation across substantially the full Width of the concave side of said strip when the single thickness II of the sheet intermediate said end portions is taut across the convex side of the strip (Fig. 3). The overlapped end portions I t are brought under the end portion I of piece 4, and are thus held against the concave side of strip I and onto said strip.

The size of a quarter sheet of standard size sandpaper is approximately 4 x 5 inches and is usually folded along lines parallel with the greatest length when placed on the holder.

It will be seen that after the portion II of the sheet has been used adjacent its outer end, the sheet may be slipped off the strip I and from below the portion 1 of part 4, and may then be reversed end for end and slipped back onto the holder for use of the remaining part of portion II. Then the sheet may be again slipped 01f the holder and replaced in inverted position so the end portions I may be used in succession in the same manner as described for portion II, except that one of said portions I0 must be folded to overlie the other once the outermost portion has been used. Thus all parts of the sheet 9 may be used with equal efiiciency.

The thinness of the strip I enables the user to use the sandpaper along the edges of the strip in crevices and places Where a block or mere unsupported sheet could not gain access.

Also, the generally pointed end of end portion 8 of the strip enables the user to easily work said pointed end into places where sanding has heretofore been difiicult. The sheet 9 normally extends slightly outwardly of said end portion 3 when the sheet is held by part 4.

The form of the invention as shown in Figs. 2, 4, is quite similar to the form shown in Figs. 1, 3. The only differences are that instead of riveting or securing a piece 4 to th body of the holder, an elongated part I4 is stamped from the strip I itself centrally of the width of the latter along parallel longitudinally extending edges 15 and one end edge I6 leaving the opposite end integrally united with strip I, and which opposite end is nearest the end edge 3 and in end portion 5 of said strip. Thus the free end of part III may be readily sprung outwardly of the plane of strip I to the concave side of the latter to enable the opposite end portions In of the sandpaper sheet to be slipped under said part I4 whereby the latter will tightly but releasably and yieldably hold the sheet onto the holder strip.

Except for the replacement of part l of Fig. 1 by the part I4 of Fig. 2 and the new positioning of part I4 the structure of the holders are the same, hence all numbers are the same in Figs. 2, 4, 5 as in Figs. 1, 3 where the elements are identical.

The position of the part I4 centrally of strip I has the advantage of tending to force the overlapping portions IQ! of the sand paper sheet into the concave side of the strip, thereby tending to draw the working portion I I of the sheet taut against the convex side of said strip.

As seen in Fig. 5, when the strip I (of either Figs. 1 or 2) is held by the hand I! of the user, the exposed end portion 5 is a sort of handle, and the slanted end edge 3 fits comfortably in the palm of the hand when the thumb I8 and middle or ring fingers of the hand extend across opposite edges of the holder with the index finger I9 pressing against the overlapped portions I0 adjacent the end edge 2 of the holder. Sometimes both the index finger and the middle finger are pressed against the overlapping portions. In either instance, the pressure by said fingers on the paper where it extends across the concave side of the strip tends to hold the paper on the convex side of said strip taut.

The thinness of the strip, which is comparable to the thinness of a conventional metal slat for a Venetian blind, distributes the pressure of the fingers over the most efiicient area of the sandpaper on the convex side of the strip and the strip protects the fingers. If the strip were not resilient and relatively thin, the result would generally correspond to that Where a rigid block were used, and a line contact would be made instead of the contact being over a substantial space. As it is, the strip I tends to flatten slightly under the pressure of th fingers where the finger tips are positioned, but resumes its curved shape upon release of such pressure. I

The angle at which the outer end edge 2 of strip-I extends is not only important in permitting access of the paper to difiicult points, but it also greatly facalitates the replacing of the paper on the holder in changing the paper to get the full use out of all parts thereof. In other words, it forms a sort of guide for the paper, as the latter is folded to flattened tubular form after its first application onto the holder.

It is to be understood that the detailed description and drawings are not to be considered restrictive of the invention, but merely illustrative of preferred forms.

I claim:

1. A sandpaper holder comprising a strip of relatively thin, resilient, semi-rigid sheet material that is straight longitudinally thereof and uniformly bowed transversely thereof whereby opposite sides are respectively concave and convex in direction transversely of the length of said strip, a clampingelement projecting from the concave side of said strip and secured to the latter adjacent one end thereof for clamping the opposite end portions of a sheet of sandpaper to said strip in overlying relationship when such sheet is folded around said strip with the portion intermediate said end portions extending across said convex side of said strip.

2. A sandpaper holder comprising a strip of relatively thin, resilient, semi-rigid sheet material that is straight longitudinally thereof and uniformly bowed transversely thereof whereby opposite sides are respectively concave and convex in direction transversely of the length of said strip, a clamping element projecting from the concave side of said strip and secured to the latter adjacent one end thereof for clamping the opposite end portions of a sheet of sandpaper to said strip in overlying relationship when such sheet is folded around said strip with the portion intermediate said end portions extending across said convex side 'of said strip, the longitudinally extending edges of said strip being parallel and said strip terminating at the end adjacent said element in an edge that is slanted relative to said longitudinally extending edges for fitting against the palm of a hand when the end portion of said strip carrying said element is held by said hand with the forefinger of such hand extending generally longitudinally of thestrip and in engagement with the concave side thereof.

3. A sandpaper holder comprising a strip of relatively thin, resilient, semi-rigid sheet material that is straight longitudinally thereof. and

uniformly bowed transversely thereof whereby opposite sides are respectively concave and convex in direction transversely of the length of said strip, a clamping element projecting from the concave side of said strip and secured to the latter adjacent one end thereof for clamping the opposite end portions of a sheet of sandpaper to said strip in overlying relationship when such sheet is folded around said strip with the portion intermediate said end portions extending across said convex side of said strip, the longitudinally extending edges of said strip being parallel and said strip terminating at the end adjacent said element in an edge that is slanted relative to said longitudinally extending edges for fitting against the palm of a hand when the end portion of said strip carrying said element is held by said hand with the forefinger of such hand extending generally longitudinally of the strip and in engagement with the concave side thereof, opposite ends of said strip terminating in edges extending slantingly relative to said longitudinal edges of said strip and in the same direction, and the corners of said strip at said end edges being rounded.

4. A sandpaper holder comprising a strip of relatively thin, resilient, semi-rigid sheet material that is straight longitudinally thereof and uniformly bowed transversely thereof whereby opposite sides are respectively concave and convex in direction transversely of the length of said strip, a clamping element projecting from the concave side of said strip and secured to the latter adjacent one end thereof for clamping the opposite end portions of a sheet of sandpaper to said strip in overlying relationship when such sheet is folded around said strip with the portion intermediate said end portions extending across said convex side of said strip, the longitudinally extending edges of said strip being parallel and said strip terminating at the and adjacent said element in an edge that is slanted relative to said longitudinally extending edges for fitting against the palm of a hand when the end portion of said strip carrying said element is held by said hand with the forefinger of such hand extending generally longitudinally of the strip and in engagement with the concave side thereof, the sand strip terminating in end edges that are rounded at their junctures with said longitudinally extending edges.

EDWARD L. BATES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Feb. 8, 1938 Number Number 

